From the very beginning, in the early 1950s, there have always been adherents of L. Ron Hubbard’s “technology” who broke away from his official movement to practice his ideas on their own.
These independent Scientologists, or Freezoners, have come and gone, with an occasional attempt to organize actual brick-and-mortar churches of their own. (There’s the former Haifa mission that thrives there under former Church of Scientology members Dani and Tami Lemberger, for example.)
But we told Victoria Palmer that we don’t recall independent Scientologists planning what she’s organizing later this month: A direct protest of the Church of Scientology and its leader David Miscavige by practicing Freezoners at Scientology’s Los Angeles headquarters, known as ‘Pacific Area Command’ to Scientologists, and ‘Big Blue’ to the public.
“I decided that it was time for us to unite and stand for the truth about Scientology,” she tells us.
Palmer is a very interesting figure we have begun to pay attention to recently. A lifelong Scientologist from Seattle, she’s an OT 3 and a Class IV auditor, and her profile in the Pacific Northwest went up when she became part of anti-mask mandate rallies in the area during the pandemic.
Trying to capitalize on that notoriety, she ran this summer for Seattle City Council, but lost her district’s primary on August 1.
Ten days later, an independent Scientology conference began in Reno, Nevada, organized by Rey Robles, a gathering he calls the “Theta Alliance.”
At that gathering, Palmer announced her intentions for a rally against Miscavige at Big Blue.
“The attendees at the Freezone Convention were very inspired by my presentation,” she says. “Our plan is to walk along L. Ron Hubbard Way and carry signs of truth that will inspire our friends inside the church to do the right thing: To take whatever actions are necessary to restore LRH tech, correct injustices, and end abuse. This will just be the first event. We’ll continue as long as necessary.”
Um, wow. Freezoners, carrying signs, walking down L. Ron Hubbard Way? That should be a shitshow of Scientology security guard freakouts.
Palmer is calling it the “Crusade to Restore Scientology,” and we thought we’d reproduce a few of the answers to the FAQ at the crusade’s website.
WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE?
If you take an honest look at statistics since Ron left his body in 1986 the church has been shrinking. David Miscavige was NOT selected by Ron to take control of managing the church. David Miscavige has altered the tech (such as re-defining an F/N) and implemented suppressive policies that have resulted in the suppression of Scientologists and Scientology. A quick web search on David Miscavige will show his history of physical abuse against Sea Org members as well as allegations of serious crimes that should be thoroughly investigated. David Miscavige is the SP. It’s time to confront and handle this situation.
WHAT ABOUT CONTROVERSIES SURROUNDING L. RON HUBBARD?
We are well aware of the controversies surrounding L. Ron Hubbard himself. He never claimed to be a saint. Yet we recognize L. Ron Hubbard as the founder of Scientology and it is to him that we owe our respect and acknowledge the wins and abilities restored by using the technology of Scientology. Old-time Scientologists have countless stories of their interactions with Ron and how churches and missions around the world flourished into the 70s and even the 80s while Ron was still alive. It was the encroachment of suppressive management and the takeover by David Miscavige that throttled wins and the expansion of Scientology.
WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP?
We are asking current staff, public, and Sea Org members to take whatever action they can to restore standard tech as developed by L. Ron Hubbard. Take any action possible to correct the application of ethics and justice, to restore it to the original intention of Ron, such as using ethics gradients rather than extreme measures like expulsion and disconnection. The proper use of disconnection is to remove enturbulation from the environment, not to censor the truth. Join one of our demonstrations or bring the movement to your city. Contact Victoria for help.
We’d really like to hear what you think. We’ve heard from plenty of former Scientologists who told us they went through an “indie” phase on their way out of Hubbardism. They said that initially they held on to their affinity for Hubbard and his ideas, but then came to believe that Hubbard had set up a deceptive system of doublethink from the beginning.
But could a concerted effort by Hubbard fans, still attached to his “tech,” cause a dent in what is certainly a weakened post-pandemic Church of Scientology under David Miscavige with public protests?
We don’t know, but we think it’s going to be really fun to find out.
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Technology Cocktail
“The position of a being on the tone scale is determined by his willingness and ability to duplicate. The lower the tone of the being the less willing the being is to permit similar incidents to happen again. This outlaws the experience factor and leaves the being with an ‘experience-scarcity’ which causes him to refuse further experience.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1960
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THE PROSECUTION OF DANNY MASTERSON
We first broke the news of the LAPD’s investigation of Scientology celebrity Danny Masterson on rape allegations in 2017, and we’ve been covering the story every step of the way since then. At this page we’ve collected our most important links as Danny faces a potential sentence of 45 years to life in prison. NOW WITH TRIAL INDEX.
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THE PODCAST: How many have you heard?
[1] Marc Headley [2] Claire Headley [3] Jeffrey Augustine [4] Bruce Hines [5] Sunny Pereira [6] Pete Griffiths [7] Geoff Levin [8] Patty Moher [9] Marc Headley [10] Jefferson Hawkins [11] Michelle ‘Emma’ Ryan [12] Paulette Cooper [13] Jesse Prince [14] Mark Bunker [15] Jon Atack [16] Mirriam Francis [17] Bruce Hines on MSH
— SPECIAL: The best TV show on Scientology you never got to see
[1] Phil Jones [2] Derek Bloch [3] Carol Nyburg [4] Katrina Reyes [5] Jamie DeWolf
— The first Danny Masterson trial and beyond
[18] Trial special with Chris Shelton [19] Trial week one [20] Marc Headley on the spy in the hallway [21] Trial week two [22] Trial week three [23] Trial week four [24] Leah Remini on LAPD Corruption [25] Mike Rinder 2022 Thanksgiving Special [26] Jane Doe 4 (Tricia Vessey), Part One [27] Jane Doe 4 (Tricia Vessey), Part Two [28] Claire Headley on the trial [29] Tory Christman [30] Bruce Hines on spying [31] Karen de la Carriere [32] Ron Miscavige on Shelly Miscavige [33] Karen de la Carriere on the L’s [34] Mark Bunker on Miscavige hiding [35] Mark Plummer [36] Mark Ebner [37] Karen Pressley [38] Steve Cannane [39] Fredrick Brennan [40] Clarissa Adams [41] Louise Shekter [42] John Sweeney [43] Tory Christman [44] Kate Bornstein [45] Christian Stolte [46] Mark Bunker [47] Jon Atack [48] Luke Y. Thompson [49] Mark Ebner [50] Bruce Hines [51] Spanky Taylor and Karen Pressley [51] Geoff and Robbie Levin [52] Sands Hall [53] Jonny Jacobsen [54] Sandy Holeman
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“Back about 1605, something like that, I was set up, I won’t go into the story in any great degree. But it took a warship and a company of marines and a broadside to kill one girl. She was protected by four redcoats and me. And of course, we caught it in the first three seconds of play. Don’t you see, that was the end of us. But it was such a terrific ferocity against this girl, who by the way, was blind. And her face was so disfigured through a bomb assassination attempt, when she was a child at seven, that she had to wear a mask. A whole man-of-war and a company of marines landing in boats and a full broadside to kill this one girl. She was the last of the family of Charles V. She was the granddaughter aspirant of the old Holy Roman Empire, and one of the innumerable French that lived down here about sixty miles had decided she was a great menace to the throne. Well, I was being audited one day. I found myself sitting around with a picture of a girl on a rock, apparently about 1870. Didn’t compare with any track I had. Nice exterior view. It just didn’t make sense. Here was a girl, sitting on a rock in exactly the same location, in exactly the same place, and I knew what happened to the girl and I knew all about it and so forth, but I hadn’t ever known the girl. Fascinating. Apparently I’d kept a spot of attention on this person as a thetan for the next couple of hundred years. It was very intriguing. Funny part of it is that this girl, picking up another body after that, had gone along for a very long time and had then happened accidentally to be taken by her parents to exactly the same rock that she was killed on in 1605. And she became very ill and she sickened and she died! Just keyed her in complete. You possibly know the place. It’s right across from Gibraltar, and the Hotel Reina Christina is on the Spanish coast side. And it’s one of those rocks right close to the Reina Christina Hotel. And of course, it’s a tourist resort and her parents had taken her back there. What a dirty trick. That must have been some vacation, man!” — L. Ron Hubbard, September 6, 1961
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“ATTENTION, ATTENTION: For this afternoon at 1500 when the Newsreel cameraman will come board to film the ship, please be sure to not war the clear bracelet, otherwise it could be noticed in the film. Thank you!” — Love, Jone, PRO I/T, September 6, 1971
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“That awkard moment when you do an OCA to somebody and discover she’s crazy.”
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1997: Attorney Graham Berry provided details on some of the cases he will be involved in against Scientology in the coming months. “[T]he end of summer leads me to prepare the soon to be filed litigation: Berry v. Miscavige, Rinder, Farney, Moxon, Quinn, Drescher, Abelson, Ingram, Lewis and Landmark. Write a multi-volume treatise on Scientology’s litigation history and practices, with appendices of relevant documents. Work on a book on my own Scientology litigation and harassment experiences. A sale of the book and movie rights is almost concluded. I rush to the airport to deal with DM’s minions in Denver tomorrow. A discovery status conference – and he will be deposed in the Factnet case. The cult’s lawyers (Rosen, Yingling, Blakely & Chase) and Intelligence Chief Mike Rinder were strangely foaming at the mouth over my weekend posting. In the afternoon they even told the Magistrate Judge in the Factnet case about it and asked that I be ordered to sign a confidentiality agreement because I am writing the books I referred to in the posting. The Magistrate Judge smiled broadly when he read my posting that Rosen handed up with Yingling and Rinder watching. Rinder looked ashen, white, puffy, drawn and exhausted. The Factnet case has revealed that BPI, at best, may have a claim to 13 copyrights and that RTC has no longer any tenable trade secret claims. The Cult cannot afford to take the Factnet case to trial. Incidentally, the cults legal expenses on the internet cases is approx. $15-20m. Finally, are Annie Broeker’s screams in solitary confinement – as has been alleged in various declarations – still being heard on the RPF in Hemet? Roxanne Friend’s files (which she gave me) are illustrative in this regard – and applicable to McPherson. Incidentally, can anyone put me in touch with Joe Leessor? Some claim he was LRH’s hit man and heavy. It seems he may have been at he hospital just before Quentin died-possibly as a result of the plug being pulled. And where is Mark (Marty) Rathbun, who allegedly took John Travolta’s jet to beat the fleeing Annie Broeker to New York and to bring her back to the RPF in Hemet? Last that I heard he was handling Suzette Hubbard’s and Guy White’s marital and child custody issues-until the church discovered Guy’s and my burgeoning friendship and ordered him to disconnect from me on pain of losing access to his kids.”
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“The church that never forgives and never forgets. The Scientologists always pay their debts.”
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Found guilty on two counts on May 31, remanded to custody. Sentencing on Sep 7.
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud.
Civil litigation:
— Leah Remini v. Scientology, alleging ‘Fair Game’ harassment and defamation: Complaint filed August 2, first hearing set for Dec 4.
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Forced to arbitration. Plaintiffs allowed interlocutory appeal to Eleventh Circuit.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Appellate court removes requirement of arbitration on January 19, case remanded back to Superior Court. Stay in place at least through sentencing of Masterson on Sep 7. Next hearing set for Sept 26.
— Jane Doe 1 v. Scientology, David Miscavige, and Gavin Potter: Case unsealed and second amended complaint filed. Next hearing Nov 6.
— Chiropractors Steve Peyroux and Brent Detelich, stem cell fraud: Ordered to mediation.
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After the success of their double-Emmy-winning, three-season A&E series ‘Scientology and the Aftermath,’ Leah Remini and Mike Rinder continue the conversation on their podcast, ‘Scientology: Fair Game.’ We’ve created a landing page where you can hear all of the episodes so far.
LEAH REMINI: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE AFTERMATH
An episode-by-episode guide to Leah Remini’s three-season, double-Emmy winning series that changed everything for Scientology watching. Originally aired from 2016 to 2019 on the A&E network, and now on Netflix.
SCIENTOLOGY’S CELEBRITIES, from A to Z
Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!
Other links: SCIENTOLOGY BLACK OPS: Tom Cruise and dirty tricks. Scientology’s Ideal Orgs, from one end of the planet to the other. Scientology’s sneaky front groups, spreading the good news about L. Ron Hubbard while pretending to benefit society. Scientology Lit: Books reviewed or excerpted in a weekly series. How many have you read?
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THE WHOLE TRACK
[ONE year ago] How Scientology churchified itself to capitalize on its IRS tax exemption
[TWO years ago] On this Labor Day, some insane stories of labor in Scientology’s ‘Sea Org’
[THREE years ago] New letter about Scientology by J. Edgar Hoover shows up in FBI records search
[FOUR years ago] Elisabeth Moss snows another reporter about Scientology, but this one really hurts
[FIVE years ago] Finally, Captain David Miscavige’s faux-military Scientology ribbons, described and decoded!
[SIX years ago] Scientology’s ultimate prize: For the first time online, the current ‘OT 8’ materials laid bare
[SEVEN years ago] As Louis Theroux’s Scientology movie hits theaters, its main subject accuses it of deception
[EIGHT years ago] VIDEO LEAK: Rare look at Captain David Miscavige giving shipboard Scientology briefing
[NINE years ago] Deputy ambassador of a small African nation? Scientology wants to buy you lunch!
[TEN years ago] VIDEO: Scientology Leader David Miscavige’s Weird Explanation for the IRS Victory
[ELEVEN years ago] Scientology to Marc and Claire Headley: Spy For Us and We’ll Forget the $43K You Owe
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Bernie Headley (1952-2019) did not see his daughter Stephanie in his final 5,667 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,144 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,659 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,209 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,199 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,080 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,384 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,255 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 2,360 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,807 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,149 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,715 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,634 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,801 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,383 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,644 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,680 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,396 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,960 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,275 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,450 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 7,001 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,132 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,470 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,325 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,444 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,800 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 7,103 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,209 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,607 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,483 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,048 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,561 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,815 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,924 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on September 6, 2023 at 07:00
E-mail tips to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter. We also post updates at our Facebook author page. After every new story we send out an alert to our e-mail list and our FB page.
Our new book with Paulette Cooper, Battlefield Scientology: Exposing L. Ron Hubbard’s dangerous ‘religion’ is now on sale at Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats. Our book about Paulette, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper, is on sale at Amazon in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook versions. We’ve posted photographs of Paulette and scenes from her life at a separate location. Reader Sookie put together a complete index. More information can also be found at the book’s dedicated page.
The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2022 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2022), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)
Other links: BLOGGING DIANETICS: Reading Scientology’s founding text cover to cover | UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists | GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice | SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts | Shelly Miscavige, 15 years gone | The Lisa McPherson story told in real time | The Cathriona White stories | The Leah Remini ‘Knowledge Reports’ | Hear audio of a Scientology excommunication | Scientology’s little day care of horrors | Whatever happened to Steve Fishman? | Felony charges for Scientology’s drug rehab scam | Why Scientology digs bomb-proof vaults in the desert | PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ
Watch our short videos that explain Scientology’s controversies in three minutes or less…
Check your whale level at our dedicated page for status updates, or join us at the Underground Bunker’s Facebook discussion group for more frivolity.
Our non-Scientology stories: Robert Burnham Jr., the man who inscribed the universe | Notorious alt-right inspiration Kevin MacDonald and his theories about Jewish DNA | The selling of the “Phoenix Lights” | Astronomer Harlow Shapley‘s FBI file | Sex, spies, and local TV news | Battling Babe-Hounds: Ross Jeffries v. R. Don Steele
Tony Ortega at The Daily Beast
